| The Wrecker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Mighty Thor #148 (January 1968) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dirk Garthwaite |
| Species | Human (empowered) |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | Wrecking Crew Masters of Evil Legion Accursed Frightful Four[1] Lethal Legion |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, stamina and durability Via enchanted crowbar: Energy absorption and projection Force field generation Illusion casting Mind control Teleportation Ability to create minor earthquakes |
TheWrecker (Dirk Garthwaite) is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics.
The character made his live-action debut in theMarvel Cinematic Universe television seriesShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law, portrayed byNick Gomez.
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Created byStan Lee andJack Kirby, the Wrecker made his first appearance inThe Mighty Thor #148 (January 1968).[2]
Dirk Garthwaite, a.k.a.the Wrecker, first appeared inThor, and is depicted as a formermanual laborer for ademolitions crew who is fired for his violent and anti-social tendencies. Garthwaite created acostume for himself and called himself the Wrecker, committing a series ofrobberies, demolishing looted locations and leaving acrowbar at the scene of the crime.[3] The Wrecker entered ahotel room occupied byAsgardian godLoki, theadopted brother and archenemy of the Thunder GodThor. Upon knocking out the de-powered Loki, the Wrecker put on his helmet and received anenchantment from Loki's ally,Karnilla the Norn Queen, who assumed he was Loki because the Wrecker was wearing his helmet and she only saw him from the back. Therefore, Karnilla was the source of his newfound enchanted powers. Reveling in his power, the Wrecker embarked on a crime spree and defeated Thor who, at the time, had had his power severely reduced by his fatherOdin (ruler of theNorse gods) as punishment for choosing to remain on Earth. A building collapsed onto the Thunder God, nearly killing him. The Wrecker was defeated by theAsgardian goddessSif, who animated thearmor of the AsgardianDestroyer to save Thor. The Wrecker's crowbar was shattered.[4]
The Wrecker returned and battled Thor again, although a fully restored Thor easily defeated him.[5]
The Wrecker returned inThe Defenders, and this time appeared with three superpowered partners in crime:Bulldozer,Piledriver andThunderball. Empowered when holding the crowbar as it is struck bylightning, the villains joined the Wrecker to become theWrecking Crew.[6] While searching for agamma bomb built by Thunderball with which they hope toextortNew York City, the Wrecking Crew battled several members of the Defenders:Doctor Strange;Nighthawk and theHulk. Aided byPower Man, the heroes defeated the villains.[7]
After an appearance inFantastic Four as the pawns of thePuppet Master,[8] the Wrecker and the rest of the Wrecking Crew were featured inIron Fist in a battle against Iron Fist andCaptain America.[9] The Wrecking Crew reappeared inThor against the Thunder God, but were quickly defeated.[10]
The Wrecker appeared with the rest of the Wrecking Crew and other villains in thelimited seriesSecret Wars;[11] battledSpider-Man and teammate Thunderball over control of the Norn power in the titleSpectacular Spider-Man;[12] and joined the fourth incarnation of theMasters of Evil in a raid onAvengers Mansion. With the rest of the Wrecking Crew and other villains, the Wrecker savagely beat the AvengerHercules[13] before being captured by the remaining Avengers.[14] The Wrecker was featured inIron Man during theActs of Vengeance storyline;[15] and, inThor, had several battles alongside the rest of the Wrecking Crew against Thor, Hercules, the superhero teamExcalibur,[16][17] and theGhost Rider[18] before being defeated.[19] The Wrecker also received instruction from another enemy of Thor, the Asgardian Rock TrollUlik, as to how to utilize the full power of the enchanted crowbar.[16]
After an appearance with other villains in the titleCaptain America,[20] and with the rest of the Wrecking Crew inAlpha Flight,[21] the Wrecker was featured inThunderstrike[22] and reunited with the rest of the Wrecking Crew inJourney into Mystery.[23] After an appearance inflashback in the first issue ofThunderbolts,[24] the Wrecker appeared in the second volume ofMarvel Team-Up against Spider-Man,Namor;Doctor Strange and Iron Man,[25] then made an appearance inThunderbolts[26] and, with the rest of the Wrecking Crew, battled the Avengers.[27]
With the rest of the Wrecking Crew, the Wrecker was featured inThor and battled theWarriors Three, the Thunder God;[28] and had a brief appearance in the titleWolverine[29] and thenAvengers, which featured a grueling battle that left acivilian dead.[30] The Wrecker appeared inShe-Hulk;[31] in flashback inAvengers Finale[32] and inNew Thunderbolts.[33] The character became a perennial foe of the Avengers and was featured inNew Avengers[34] andNew Avengers: Most Wanted Files;[35] briefly inNew Excalibur[36] and, with the rest of the Wrecking Crew, battled theCanadian superhero teamOmega Flight.[37]
After an appearance in the second volume ofShe-Hulk,[38]New Avengers revealed that theHood has hired a small army of criminals, which included the Wrecker (taking advantage of the division in the superhero community caused by theSuperhuman Registration Act)[39] InDaredevil and at the Hood's direction, the Wrecker battled fellow criminals theEnforcers[40] and the New Avengers.[41] The Wrecker and the rest of the Wrecking Crew were featured in a short story in the second volume ofMarvel Comics Presents;[42] then inPunisher War Journal;[43] the miniseries1985[44] and with the Hood's army in theSecret Invasion storyline battling thealienSkrull force invadingNew York City.[45]
The Wrecker continued to make appearances across several titles as an employee of the Hood, includingNew Avengers;[46]Captain America;[47] the miniseriesMarvel Apes[48] and a promotional comic book produced byTaco Bell.[49] Together with the Wrecking Crew, the Wrecker was featured inWhat If?;[50]Dark Reign Files;[51] in flashback inIncredible Hercules[52] and stories that formed part of theDark Reign storyline.[53] He was seen among the Hood's men in the attack on Asgard.[54]
During theAvengers: Standoff! storyline, the Wrecker was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D.[55]
The Wrecker was then seen among a group of supervillains who heard from the Wizard that Doctor Doom had gone straight, only for Doom to arrive and defeat them single-handed. The Wrecker is later seen in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, where he is interrogated by the Thing.[56]
The Wrecker and the rest of the Wrecking Crew were seen as members of the Hood's gang as the Wrecking Crew led the attack on Castle Doom. The Wrecker and Thunderball were taken down by Doctor Doom in his Iron Man armor until the Hood showed up with the rest of his gang and shot him with one of his enchanted bullets. AsRampage andShockwave held him down, the Wrecker was ordered to rip open Doctor Doom's Iron Man armor. As the Wrecker prepared to do the final opening move, Victor von Doom disappeared in a bright light, leaving the armor behind.[57]
During theBlood Hunt event, the Wrecker played an integral part in turning the tide against the invading vampire forces. He was recruited by a deceasedMoon Knight's Midnight Mission alliesTigra and Hunter's Moon to help freeKhonshu, who had been imprisoned on Asgard. Using his Asgardian powered crowbar, the Wrecker was able to break Khonshu out of his cell, leading to a strong moonlight appearing over a previously darkened Earth, and a resurrected Moon Knight (who could not be brought back to life during Khonshu's imprisonment) leading an army of spirits of previous Fists of Khonshu.[58]
Courtesy of an Asgardian enchantment placed on him by mistake by Karnilla the Norn Queen, the Wrecker possesses superhuman strength, stamina and durability (bulletproof). When he initially shares the Norn power with the rest of the Wrecking Crew, the Wrecker's abilities were reduced by one-fourth. After receiving training from Ulik the Rock Troll, the Wrecker no longer suffers from this handicap and is now capable of using his powers to their full potential and use the crowbar in the same fashion that Thor can utilize his mystic hammerMjolnir. He has used the crowbar to demolish entire buildings in minutes and to hold off the Thunder God Thor in battle. The Wrecker primarily uses the crowbar offensively as both a throwing and blunt weapon. While the Wrecker is the true source of the power, at times the power can be transferred into the crowbar.
The crowbar's secondary abilities include absorbing and projecting energy, creatingillusions, generating aforce field, creating minorearthquakes,teleportation and returning to the Wrecker when thrown. The Wrecker also shares a mental link with the crowbar and can mentally control any weak-minded individual who touches it. The Wrecker was also able to temporarily mystically impart superhuman strength to the individual and surround him/her in an impenetrable force field around that person that would protect that person until the individual reached the Wrecker. The individual would be in a trance-like state while they were holding the crowbar and under the Wrecker's control. The trance would be broken once the crowbar was in the Wrecker's possession and the person would have no memory of their experience with the crowbar. The Wrecker is the most powerful member of the Wrecking Crew and while many believe his crowbar is the source of their powers (Thunderball thought that when he attempted to steal the crowbar, until his hand was crushed by the Wrecker in a "friendly" hand-shake while the crowbar was in Thunderball's possession), it is the Wreckerhimself that is the source of the Wrecking Crew's powers, especially after Ulik's training.[59]
The simian version of the Wrecker and his mystical monkey-wrench were vital to the defense of his home dimension from flesh-hungry zombies. While the Wrecker himself fell to the zombies early on, his weapon was used by trans-dimensional travelers interested in saving innocent lives.[62]
The Wrecker (along with the rest of the Wrecking Crew) appears as a member of the Hood's Masters of Evil.[63]
This version of the Wrecker first appeared in theUltimate Marvel imprint titleUltimate Spider-Man as a member ofDamage Control,[64] before he became villainous.[65]
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